Daily news - 28.05.2019
Published: 28. 05. 2019

SLOVENIA

Impol enters business deal with BMW

Impol, a leading Slovenian aluminium producer, has recently entered a deal to supply German car producer BMW with aluminium rods for the bodyworks of new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Source: STA

Petrol tops Delo's list of largest companies revenue-wise

The 300 largest companies in the country generated a total of EUR 45.73 billion in revenue last year, which is 9.7% more than in 2017, while their total net profit was up by 4.1% to EUR 1.77 billion. The largest company in terms of revenue was the fuel retailer Petrol with EUR 4.4 billion, shows a list by the newspaper Delo.
Source: STA

Newspaper Delo favours floatation of state-owned firms

Taking NLB bank as a good example of how floatation on the stock market can improve transparency of business by way of disclosure requirements, Delo argues in Saturday's commentary more state-owned firms should be listed.
Source: STA

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Europe stocks close higher in the wake of EU elections; Renault jumps 12% on Fiat merger talks

European shares climbed on Monday, as an EU Parliament election showed Europhile parties still performing reasonably well despite a rise in support for nationalists.Germany’s DAX closed about 0.5% higher while France’s CAC climbed 0.3%. Italy’s FTSE MIB jumped 0.6% initially, but fell into negative territory during the afternoon session after a report Brussels is considering disciplinary action over Rome’s failure to rein in public debt. Renault surged to the top of the European benchmark after Fiat confirmed it had filed a proposal for a merger with its French rival. In a press release, Fiat said the joint organization would produce estimated sales of 8.7 million vehicles a year and would be considered the world’s third largest car manufacturer. Shares of Fiat Chrysler rose 8%, while Renault surged almost 12% higher. French automaker Peugeot Citroen’s shares fell more than 3% on the back of the news, making it the worst performer in the European autos sector.
Source: CNBC

SERBIA

Average March net salary up 6.9 percent y-o-y

The average March 2019 net salary in Serbia was 54,271 dinars - 9.9 pct up in nominal terms and 6.9 pct up in real terms compared to the same period last year. The Serbian national statistical office RZS said Friday. The average March gross salary was 74,755 dinars, rising 9.5 pct in nominal and 6.5 pct in real terms y-o-y. The median net salary in March was 40,765 dinars, meaning that 50 pct of the employed population received salaries up to that amount.
Source: Tanjug

Fiscal Council: Growth realistic if investments are higher

Fiscal Council President Pavle Petrovic believes Serbia's declining public debt will mean lower interest rates for the government and the private sector alike and result in quicker growth. ""If the policy of a very low deficit and a de facto balanced budget continues - and it is a policy the government has announced - the declining public debt will basically mean lower interest rates for both the government and the private sector, which will also mean quicker economic growth,"" Petrovic told the RTS at the weekend.

Serbia’s GDP growing for 18 consecutive quarters, but still not enough

Serbia’s economic growth has been steadily rising for the 18th quarter in a row, starting from the pre-crisis period, i.e. the beginning of 2008, according to the National Bank of Serbia report. This growth, however, is far from the desired development level which is the reason why the countries of the former Eastern bloc are so much ahead of us in economic progress. According to the central bank’s calculations, economic activity for the first three months of this year, measured by GDP, was 14% higher than 11 years ago. While the GDP growth in the first quarter of this year was 0.9%. The National Bank of Serbia, IMF and the World Bank have all estimated that GDP growth in Serbia in 2019 will be 3.5%, while the European Commission, the Fiscal Council and domestic economists expect lower economic growth, at about 3%.
Source: Serbianmonitor

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